ARTSBEAT; For ‘Dark Side,’ An Anniversary, Too

By JAMES C. MCKINLEY JR.

Published: March 22, 2013

stream the album on PinkFloyd.com and to tweet their memories, photos and comments about the music with the hashtag #DarkSide40. The Web site will monitor the tweets and slowly darken an image of the moon as they flood in, EMI Music announced on Wednesday.">

Back in the 1970s, fans of Pink Floyd were known to gather in small groups around their stereos, often in darkened living rooms, imbibe their drug of choice and listen to “The Dark Side of the Moon” in its entirety.

How times have changed. As the album turns 40 on Sunday, the band has turned that stoner ritual into an online interactive activity. Starting after midnight in England (or 8:00 p.m. Saturday Eastern Time), fans are being invited to stream the album on PinkFloyd.com and to tweet their memories, photos and comments about the music with the hashtag #DarkSide40. The Web site will monitor the tweets and slowly darken an image of the moon as they flood in, EMI Music announced on Wednesday.

One of the best-selling albums of all time, “Dark Side” was Pink Floyd’s first No. 1 album in the United States and remained on the American chart for 741 weeks between 1973 and 1988. The prism on the cover has become an icon of 1970s progressive rock. The original designer, Storm Thorgerson, has created 14 variations on the prism that will be unveiled over time on the band’s site in honor of the anniversary.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.

stream the album on PinkFloyd.com and to tweet their memories, photos and comments about the music with the hashtag #DarkSide40. The Web site will monitor the tweets and slowly darken an image of the moon as they flood in, EMI Music announced on Wednesday.">